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City late, but right to enforce codes

The Church of Scientology long has prided itself on the appearance of its downtown Clearwater properties. So it is difficult for the community to understand, much less accept, the church's decision to allow its biggest building to look like an eyesore for more than two years.

The Municipal Code Enforcement Board finally took action on the issue last week, long after it should have slapped the church for delays.

The church's permits for construction of the 380,000-square-foot Flag Building at 215 S Fort Harrison Ave. expired in November 2004. The exterior of the building has not been finished, the interior is an incomplete shell, and for two years the grounds, surrounded by an ugly chain link fence, were covered by construction debris, litter and piles of sand.

The work stoppage was the second since construction on the project began in November 1998. Crews first hollowed out a huge basement that will be an underground dining hall, but the city, concerned about parking and other issues, would not grant a permit to begin above-ground construction. All work ceased in fall 1999.

The two sides finally reached agreement and work restarted in early 2000, with church officials saying the project would be completed in two years.

Six years and many complaints and questions later, the city finally either ran out of patience or worked up the nerve to challenge the church. The property owner, officially the Church of Scientology Religious Trust, was cited for expired permits and violation of city codes. Those citations were delivered in early February, and city and church officials spent the rest of that month trying to resolve the problem without going to a code enforcement hearing. The church put some plants around the perimeter of the property outside the fence, but the city was not satisfied.

March 22, the Code Enforcement Board told the Church of Scientology it has 180 days to complete exterior work on the building or it will be fined $250 a day. The organization has until September to get new permits and start work.

Neither the city nor the Code Enforcement Board are requiring the church to complete the interior of the Flag Building by a specific deadline. Given the church's history on this project, that kind of deadline could become necessary.

At least the church now is on notice that the city might not be so tolerant of dallying and code violations in the future. And the city should not be, whether the property owner is the Church of Scientology or anyone else.

[Last modified March 30, 2006, 06:27:54]